by Gray Graham

It has been ten years since Sade's last album. In that time she has basically just been living her life. I recently heard an interview with her. She seems to have that mix that most women find hard to pull off. She is very feminine yet comes off very strong and proud. Even after all of these years the reaction that she gets from women and men still amazes me. Most men seem to love and adore her especially black men, and a lot of women seem to dislike her greatly often comments on her appearance. It seems it is the old tale of a strong woman just is not liked by some women.

Sade is an artist whose art is as diverse as she herself. Being a biracial woman living in rural England, she still takes pride in her Nigerian heritage. If you are an old guy like me then this new CD should be a welcomed break from the music of today. If you are an artist then you will truly appreciate the work that goes into the creativity. It seems today that most songs are just manufactured with a catchy hook for the masses to be forgotten about in a few weeks while Sade's music lives on for years.

One of the biggest criticisms I hear about Sade's music is that it all sounds the same. You can tell each song is by her with input from her, meant to tell a story. I think that is probably what connects her to the fans, the fact that her musics reflects life and everyone can relate to life stories.

“Soldier Of Love” the single and album title speaks about how she views herself and where she fits in music history. Love, generally lost love and pain, are the cornerstones of the Sade sound and I don't think this CD will disappoint anyone. Each and every song has been cared for as fine wine and given time to aged properly. I will leave it to others to break the CD down for you in detail, I believe after this young Burgundy I will take in the fine aged Bordeaux that is “Smooth Operator”. Like fine wine Sade only gets better with age.